Abdul El-Sayed wins critical Michigan Senate primary
Progressive Abdul El-Sayed defeated moderate Rep. Haley Stevens for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan, NBC News and Decision Desk HQ have projected, a major victory for the Democratic Party's left wing in one of the most pivotal races of the 2026 election season.
El-Sayed will now be charged with holding the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in the pivotal swing state − the biggest electability test for the party's progressive wing in 2026.
The political newcomer El-Sayed's win comes nearly two years after President Donald Trump won Michigan in 2024. Stevens, a former Obama administration official embraced by the party establishment, had argued that El-Sayed risks losing the seat to Republican Mike Rogers, who was unopposed for his party's nomination. El-Sayed's side contends outsider candidates generate more enthusiasm.
El-Sayed’s victory was extremely close. The public health official turned politician beat Stevens by about 1% of the vote. The difference between the two candidates was less than 15,000 votes, The Associated Press reported with about 99% of votes counted.
The race had been heated since state Sen. Mallory McMorrow exited on July 5, making the divisions clearer between the centrist congresswoman and progressive insurgent. On Wednesday, El-Sayed appeared on "CBS Mornings" and said his top goal is to unify Democratic voters alongside Stevens to collectively defeat Rogers.
“We’ve got to bring the party together, and I know both she and I are committed to doing that,” El-Sayed said. “We’ve got only 13 weeks to beat a guy who has no business being in the U.S. Senate, so I looking forward to that conversation. Grateful for the hard-fought race that we had and the things that unify us are so much bigger than any of the things that divided us.”
Progressives win two Michigan House primaries that oust Shri Thanedar from Congress
Candidates from the Democratic Party's left flank clinched two competitive House primary wins in Michigan, including a victory from a Democratic socialist, state Rep. Donavan McKinney, over incumbent Shri Thanedar in the 13th District.
McKinney’s win continues a national trend of progressive insurgents defeating incumbent Democrats in major U.S. cities as the party reckons with its policy agenda ahead of 2028.
Meanwhile, Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s handpicked candidate, former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam, was defeated by progressive William Lawrence.
The Bernie Sanders-backed Lawrence will face Rep. Tom Barrett in Michigan’s 7th District. The race and the Senate contest will be seen as a test on progressives’ messaging in key swing states.
–Jay Stahl
El-Sayed has ‘head start’ on pivoting to general election, expert says
To win against Republican nominee Mike Rogers in the November election, El-Sayed likely needs to shore up support among Black voters and seniors who backed Stevens and appeal to independent, moderate voters.
Matt Grossman, a political science professor at Michigan State University, said El-Sayed will have to overcome Republican attacks that he’s too far to the left and his newness to politics, having never held elected office. He also pointed to signs of potential bias among voters against Muslim candidates.
“That said, everybody judges the candidates individually, not just based on a few factors, and voters have been pretty positive about El-Sayed in terms of his media presence, in terms of his in-person demeanor,” Grossman said.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee quickly released an ad after El-Sayed’s victory, slamming him as “the most radical Senate candidate in America."
“Mike Rogers is definitely happy,” Grossman said, adding that not only do Republicans think they have ammunition against El-Sayed but his candidacy has exposed Democrats’ intra-party rift over Israel and Gaza.
Still, Grossman said El-Sayed, compared to other progressive candidates, has “pivoted early” toward the general election by saying he does not identify as a Democratic socialist and that he wants the backing of Trump supporters.
“He’s got a little bit of a head start in comparison to some of the other left candidates in trying to position for the general election,” Grossman said.
–Joey Garrison
How Democrats’ emerging power base boosted El-Sayed
Even though the outcome was much closer than most polls predicted, El-Sayed’s win is “a big victory for the left side of the party in a swing state,” said Grossman, the political science professor at Michigan State University.
With El-Sayed, the Democratic Party’s left flank duplicated at a statewide level the success progressive candidates have recently had in mayoral races and House primaries.
Grossman called the win “a culmination” of progressives’ organization efforts across Michigan.
Despite his populist message focused on the working class, El-Sayed won by winning big among college-educated white voters, particularly in communities such as Ann Arbor (home of the University of Michigan) and Grand Rapids. Rep. Haley Stevens beat El-Sayed in Detroit, home to many working-class Black voters and Democrats’ biggest stronghold.
“It actually benefited El-Sayed in the primary that the rising part of the Democratic Party is the white-educated part,” Grossman said. “These people didn’t necessarily used to vote in Democratic primaries 10 years ago. It would have been a more Haley Stevens-oriented electorate than it is today.”
Grossman said the dynamics of the race turned last year with candidate recruitment, when Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a Michigan resident, both turned down running for the seat. It resulted in the Democratic establishment rallying behind Stevens, who was not their first choice.
–Joey Garrison
El-Sayed on heated primary: 'Sometimes you got to have it out'
When asked about the contentious primary race, El-Sayed said, “sometimes you got to have it out,” while adding that it’s time for Democrats to come together for the general election in November.
“Sometimes, intra-family squabbles are the biggest ones, but when we walk out of the house, we stand united,” El-Sayed said at a news conference Wednesday after his primary win. “Sometimes we got to have it out about the conversation about who we are and who we want to be. And I think I’ll tell you that the things that unite us are so much bigger than the things that divide us."
“I know everybody is not going to agree with me on everything,” El-Sayed continued. “But I do know that they agree with me on the need to beat Mike Rogers and the need to hold Donald Trump accountable, and the need to provide people health care and the need to address the affordability crisis that is making it so that all of us struggle simply because we want to pump gas or go to the grocery store and the need to stop fighting stupid wars we should never be fighting.”
“I’m looking forward to unifying together,” El-Sayed concluded.
–Terry Collins
El-Sayed makes promise to Jewish Michiganders
One of the biggest divides between El-Sayed’s and Stevens’ campaigns was the issue of support for Israel. El-Sayed has been highly critical of Israel’s war in Gaza and called for an end to U.S. military aid to the country. Stevens took the position of espousing support for Israel while criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
El-Sayed took a moment in his victory speech to assure Jewish Michiganders that his stance on U.S. involvement in Israel’s war in Gaza will have nothing to do with how he treats people in the United States.
"My commitment to your safety, to Jewish safety, is the same commitment I have to the safety of my own daughters," said El-Sayed, adding he wants to live in America where the nation treats all children like parents aim to treat their own.
El-Sayed also thanked his Jewish supporters who came to him saying the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group that poured tens of millions into supporting Stevens, did not represent them.
–Michael Loria
El-Sayed challenges Rogers to 5 debates
During his victory speech, El-Sayed called on GOP challenger Mike Rogers to participate in a series of debates.
“Mike, I know you’re going to say no because you’re a coward, five debates,” El-Sayed said, holding up five fingers to cheers. “If you’re willing to stand with me and have a conversation, you and I both know you will wither in front of your own crimes. But I’m going to make sure Michiganders know about them.
“Because by the time we’re done, you are not going to have safe corridor from people holding you accountable. ... We will send you back to Florida where you belong.”
El-Sayed added he hoped Rogers would respond to his debate challenge on Wednesday. “It’s going to be a lot of fun, my guy,” he said.
–Terry Collins
'A movement that beats Goliath': El-Sayed celebrates grassroots victory
Abdul El-Sayed cast his narrow victory over Stevens and the enormous campaign funding she received as the result of a grassroots movement "that beats Goliath."
El-Sayed gave his victory speech Wednesday morning in Detroit, shortly after the race was called in his favor. He spoke flanked by a few Michigan Democratic Party notables but otherwise surrounded by the grassroots supporters he said characterized the democratic movement he wants to build.
"We took on a machine, you’re not supposed to be able to beat $70 million of outside spending," El-Sayed. But, "what we showed is that the power of our many is greater than the power of their money."
That power, he said, comes from the simple but hard work of going door-to-door and speaking with voters about the challenges they face, including health care and housing.
"What we showed," he said, "is you can build a conversation that builds into a movement that beats Goliath."
–Michael Loria
Trump, Vance go on the attack against El-Sayed
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance went on the attack against El-Sayed on Wednesday morning, calling him a communist and warning he could be the next president of the United States.
Speaking at an event on fraud prevention in Washington, Vance warned that El-Sayed could wind up running the country.
“God forbid, you’re going to have President El-Sayed in three years, we don’t want him to undo all the incredible work that we’ve been doing,” Vance said.
On social media, Trump made baseless allegations about widespread voter fraud in Michigan’s most populous county and lashed out at El-Sayed as a “Communist loser,” saying his nomination would benefit Republicans.
El-Sayed does not identify as a socialist or communist and says he supports capitalism.
–Francesca Chambers
Stevens concedes, promises to work with El-Sayed
The Democratic healing process has already begun, according to the Stevens campaign.
The congresswoman spoke with El-Sayed on Wednesday morning to concede before issuing a statement saying how the race presented voters with a “thorough and rigorous campaign that brought out the full span of views” within the party.
“I am proud to have put up my hand to serve and prouder to continue to work together to make sure this Senate seat remains blue, that we flip the United States Senate and continue the work for Michigan,” Stevens said.
Reconciling will be critical for Democrats this fall given the close outcome. Out of roughly 1.5 million ballots cast, El-Sayed won by less than 15,000 votes, or about 1 percentage point, over Stevens.
–Phillip M. Bailey
Expert: 'Remarkable' win for El-Sayed after being outspent
El-Sayed’s messaging and campaigning came across as confident whereas Stevens came across more as frailing and scattered, said Joshua Koss, a political science professor at Eastern Michigan University.
“This is a really significant victory considering it is a grassroots campaign where he was outspent by a pretty massive magnitude, and he still pulled this off,” Koss said. “That’s quite remarkable.”
El-Sayed also should be be able to make a transition to campaigning for the general election, Koss added.
“You might see some rephrasing on certain positions, and there will be a phase of mending some bridges that will be facilitated by some statewide Democrats and by Stevens who has also pledged for unity,” Koss said. “I think it will also be interesting to see how the national Democratic Party rallies around a nontraditional candidate.”
Koss believes that El-Sayed has a solid chance against Rogers, who has “run sort of a zombie campaign” in his unopposed run for the Republican nomination.
–Terry Collins
Will El-Sayed pivot his messaging for November?
Richard Czuba, a Michigan-based pollster for the Glengariff Group, said El-Sayed can win over more independent, centrist Michigan voters ahead of the midterm matchup if he slightly pivots his messaging away from democratic socialist policies like "Medicare for all," said
Czuba believes that El-Sayed can effectively message to independents on getting money and corruption out of politics.
"It can align very nicely with, for example, Jocelyn Benson's messages," Czuba said of Benson, who won the Democratic nomination for Michigan governor. "So the question going into November I have: Is he willing to be part of the Democratic team? Because they can help each other. Or does he think he stands on his own?"
–Emily R. Condon
Candidates traded blows in contentious primary race
The Democratic opponents have traded barbs over spending from pro-Israel groups, including after a contentious July 27 debate.
El-Sayed slammed Stevens to Fox 2 Detroit for her support from pro-Israel groups, who want to prevent the former public health director from prevailing in the race. Stevens has criticized El-Sayed over his financial disclosures.
"I think this is all a distraction from the question of who are all the 501C4s that have funded Center Forward (PAC), who are all the funders behind the Center for Democratic Priorities?" El-Sayed said. "Now, to say that somehow my tax return is more important to the voters in the state than the $60 million that have been spent in this race on ads, most of them attacking me at this point, I think is missing the vote – so, I'm happy to release everything."
On Election Day, at her polling place in Birmingham, Michigan, Stevens portrayed herself as the most authentic candidate, telling reporters – including Fox – that El-Sayed's support from figures like controversial leftist political commentator Hasan Piker has caused discomfort.
"Some of this stuff makes people uncomfortable, frankly it makes me uncomfortable," Stevens said. "We don't need these demagogues or people citing allegiance to Mao coming in."
Trump thinks his preferred Senate candidate will fare better than El-Sayed
For weeks, the two candidates have clawed at each other for the party's nomination in the battleground state that could determine control of the Senate in President Donald Trump's last two years in office.
Trump said in a Fox News interview on Aug. 4 before the Democratic primary results were called that Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers would fare better in a general election contest against El-Sayed than one against Stevens.
"I'm not a big believer in polls, but I believe in them somewhat. Based on the polls, he'll (Rogers) do much better against Abdul than he's gonna do against the congresswoman," Trump said
Electability has been a key argument in Stevens' campaign.
While El-Sayed was ahead in many polls over Stevens, including a recent survey conducted by Emerson College, the Democratic novice is trailing in some polling against Rogers, which the GOP nominee sees as advantageous.
"If he wins, I think we’re in good shape,” Rogers told supporters per a CNN report last month in response to a question about his campaign’s strategy for El-Sayed. "I mean, I think he’s so radical. I think he’s going to lose big parts of the west part of the state. We think we can do well in part of the southeast part of the state. I think we’ll do well if he in fact is the nominee."
Rogers echoed similar confidence to Fox News.